


A Castle in Ruins

by Burgie



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: F/M, female WoL
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-02
Updated: 2019-10-02
Packaged: 2020-11-10 18:01:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20855942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: After the battle of Doma Castle, Eden just wants to rest with her beloved. Eden belongs to ZealousDawn.





	A Castle in Ruins

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ZealousDawn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZealousDawn/gifts).

Eden hurt. Being one of the Warriors of Light, this was not exactly a new experience for her- thanks to Zenos especially, there were no strangers to pain or scars among Lichgang. Still, though, this was the first time where she'd wanted to actively hide her hurt. With everything else that was going on, she didn't want Hien to have to worry about her. He had more important things to worry about, like helping to rebuild his homeland of Doma. And Eden was going to do whatever she could to help with that.

Hot chocolate, for example, was a good start. Or so she figured, anyway. It had certainly helped to lift the group's spirits way back when they'd first come to Ishgard as wards of House Fortemps. Even if it had then been poisoned at one point and- Eden shook her head even as she stood in the kitchen, trying to ignore the pain radiating from the stab wound in her gut as she painstakingly attempted to make hot chocolate. She shouldn't even be on her feet right now, but... but she couldn't very well stay away from the man she'd fallen so deeply in love with.

Besides, it made her happy. And Hien, at least, would appreciate the hot drink. Bracing herself, Eden finished making the drinks and picked up both mugs, clenching her jaw against the pain that panged from her gut, her shoulder. Though she'd removed the bomb quickly, the exertion still left it aching. Why had that chainsaw oaf targeted her old injury? It was like he knew or something, but... no, surely Zenos hadn't thought ahead that much, hadn't remembered one injury among many. Or maybe he had, the brute. She wouldn't put it past him to be so malicious.

Hien had set himself up in a place that he called a Kienkan, a meeting room where he could meet with important people- including the Scions that were here and the Warriors of Light. It had been his first job, after ensuring that the enclave was safe to house the displaced Domans. Now, Hien looked up as Eden entered the room, and Eden couldn't help but smile at him. She no longer broke down at just the mere sight of him, but it was a very near thing. Especially when he returned her smile.

"Eden, what a pleasant surprise," said Hien.

"Me or the hot chocolate?" Eden asked, going for breezy. Hien stood, walking across to take his mug from her. Eden couldn't hide her wince or her sigh of relief as Hien took the mug from her injured arm, much as she tried. The look of shock on his face at her reaction made her heart plummet.

"You're hurt," said Hien. "Of course you're hurt, you just stormed the castle and Anjelain had to carry Zelda out, even the fierce little cat was limping." His worry, his wide eyes, made Eden's heart ache and tears welled in her own eyes.

"Yeah, we're both kind of terrible at avoiding attacks," said Eden. "I'm fine, though, really, it's just... an aggravated old stab wound."

"Stab wound?" Hien gasped, and now he looked paler.

"Hey, you're no stranger to them yourself," said Eden, gesturing to the scar that adorned Hien's brow, splitting one eyebrow in two, and the one adorning his shoulder. She had traced these several times now, kissed them too, though she never quite forgot that those wounds had damn near killed him.

"Still," said Hien, shaking his head. "Come with me, I may not be white mage or conjurer or even astrologian but I can still at least make some small attempt to patch you up."

"I'm fine, seriously," Eden said again, following him out of the main room and through a door, down a hallway. They came to a well-lit room, one with a sleeping mat on the floor and the scent of herbs hanging in the air.

"Sit," said Hien, still holding his mug in one hand as he gestured to the floor with his other.

"Can't I have my hot chocolate?" Eden asked. She took a few sips of the sweet, milky treat, feeling it warm her insides. Just what she needed after that fight, after the castle coming down on top of them, after... oh.

Now, Hien's fretting made sense, his determination to help her feel better, to heal her wounds or at the very least make the pain go away. He'd just lose Gosetsu, seen him disappear beneath the rubble, losing her on top of that would just be...

"Hey," said Eden, sitting down on the mattress and placing her mug on the floor. "I'm still here, I'm alive, I'm okay. It's just an old injury, I promise. Here, I'll let you look at it."

Knowing how she was, how she valued her privacy, Hien carefully slid the door closed and ensured that it was locked before he knelt in front of her, placing his own barely-touched mug by hers. The sight of it was an ache that Eden didn't know if she could bear.

Carefully, with a nod of permission from Eden, Hien opened the front of Eden's samurai outfit and pushed down the sleeve to reveal the injured shoulder. The site of the wound was red and looked sore, though there was no blood, nor any sign of infection. Still, Hien sucked air in through his teeth at the sight of it, his fingers hovering over the scar, the reddened flesh.

"What happened?" Hien asked.

"Bastard put a bomb on it," said Eden. Hien drew back, eyes wide with concern, mouth hanging just slightly agape. The sight of his worry made Eden's heart twist in her chest. Injuries were so commonplace in Lichgang now that they were really more of a memento of past fights. Hien clearly had other ideas. "I'm okay though! I managed to get it off. Zelda's the only one who got knocked out in that fight."

"We both have some powerful enemies, do we not?" said Hien, a soft smile on his lips despite the pain, the sorrow, in his eyes. Eden wondered if he knew of the primals they'd fought, aside from Susano, of course.

"Downside of doing the right thing," said Eden. "My arm will be fine, though, I just have to rest it."

"Making hot chocolate for the two of us does not constitute resting, I think," said Hien.

"Yes it does," said Eden with a smile. Hien shook his head, though there was a smile playing about his lips as he sat back and finally picked up his mug to take a sip. Eden waited for his reaction. They didn't have hot chocolate here in the Far East, she'd noticed, a fact that saddened her. Had Hien ever had it before?

"I think this might just be better than Cirina makes it," said Hien, answering Eden's unasked question. A smile sprung to Eden's lips, her heart leaping up in her chest. It didn't even matter that he'd mentioned Cirina, though other women might take offense to their beloved mentioning the name of another woman. Or, she amended, anyone's lover mentioning someone of the sex that they showed interest in. But Cirina was to Hien like a little sister, similar to what Veronyka was in their group.

"Well, I didn't have to make any sacrifices to get it," said Eden with a laugh. Hien smiled at her fondly before taking another sip of his drink.

"Nor do the Mol," said Hien. "Though I do believe that hot chocolate always tastes better when you have a loved one make it for you."

"It's made with love," said Eden. She pulled her sleeve back up, righting her clothes. Not that she felt uncomfortable being in a state of undress in Hien's presence, but should anyone walk in... plus, she didn't want to give him something to really worry about if he caught sight of the bandages wrapped around her middle.

"That it is," said Hien.

"I was wondering," said Eden after taking a few more sips of her drink. "Do you think your people would appreciate hot chocolate? I know now you had it with the Mol, but I haven't seen anyone selling or drinking it here."

"I am sure that they would be grateful for the gesture," said Hien. "Some say that hot food and drink can heal the soul better than anything else. And these souls need a lot of healing."

"I don't doubt it," said Eden. "I think you'll be able to help them, though. Lead them to a future that's brighter, that's better. You've always been a beacon of hope for them."

"So says the Warrior of Light," said Hien. "Or one of them, anyway. I think that having you and your friends around helped more than anything else. You found me, after all."

"Only because Yugiri knew where to look," said Eden. But she could take at least some of the praise, the credit. She wasn't that humble.

"Nay, my friend, you have helped Yugiri do more for Doma than I ever did, and for that I will forever be in your debt," said Hien. His warmth, his words, threatened to bring Eden to tears again, but she only took a long sip of her hot chocolate.

"And now it's your turn," said Eden. "But I'll still be around to help you, of course. I'm just a linkpearl call away." And an aetheryte, which was placed conveniently quite near the Kienkan.

"You're not seriously thinking of leaving already?" Hien asked. "Not when you're so injured, not when my people would thank you for all that you have done, when there is still so much to do."

"Believe me, I don't want to," said Eden. "But life is busy for a Warrior of Light. There's always some new primal, always Garleans to fight, dungeons to raid." Hien leaned forward, placing his hand over Eden's free one, the one that she dared not move for fear of aggravating her injury further.

"Would it be remiss of me to use my authority to demand you to stay?" Hien asked. "You need your rest. I highly doubt that anyone else allows you to rest."

"The only rest we get is when we're knocked out," said Eden. "Or waiting for something to happen."

"That's not true rest," said Hien, shaking his head. "Even my time on the Steppe does not constitute true rest. Though the Mol, and Cirina especially, tried their best to make it so."

"Would I really be resting if I stayed here, though?" Eden asked. "I'd still have to help rebuild a nation, which is a lot of work. Not that I'm complaining, I'm just saying that there's no rest for the wicked. Or the wickedly good-looking." Most people, upon hearing her say that, would have groaned. Hien, to his credit, almost choked on his drink. Eden leaned forward, putting her drink to one side to thump him on the back.

"Indeed there is not," said Hien, still trying to clear his throat. "Nevertheless, your friends will be going to help liberate Ala Mhigo, will they not?" Eden nodded. "Then I ask you to please consider staying here until such time as they need you. It may be horribly selfish of me, quite unlike the good Lord Hien that my people so revere, but... well, even I can be selfish sometimes. And as you said, you are but a linkpearl away and I am sure that there are aetherytes nearby in Ala Mhigo."

"There are," said Eden, nodding. "I guess I could stay. I really want to." She blushed slightly, giving voice to her deepest desires. Hien only smiled.

"Then it shall be so," said Hien. "You are hereby ordered to remain in the Doman Enclave with me and recuperate. Officially, you will be helping with the war effort, but unofficially..."

"Zelda went to stay in Ishgard after that first fight with Zenos to recover, and Jack's been barely here," said Eden. "It's my turn to be selfish now."

"Even the Warriors of Light can be selfish," said Hien, leaning forward to press a kiss to Eden's lips. It was something that Eden hadn't known she'd been missing all along- this closeness with someone, this desire to be selfish, this feeling of love that threatened to sweep her away, to fully consume her. Maybe she could be selfish for a little while. Though, she'd still help the Domans, even if Hien was adamant that she rest. She wouldn't feel right if she didn't.


End file.
